Movie scoreboard: '42,' 'Evil Dead,' 'The Place Beyond the Pines'

If you've got the guts to tackle another version of "The Evil Dead," you'd better be prepared to spill some, well, guts. And in "Evil Dead," director Fede Alvarez spills plenty. Whether you think it's a good movie will depend largely on your capacity for stomaching gruesome violence. The setup is similar to the first two "Evil Dead" films, and to any number of other horror films. Five friends head out to a remote cabin in the woods, where events will conspire to keep them stranded and where horror is ultimately unleashed. There's nothing here as original or as groundbreaking as director Sam Raimi's original "Evil Dead" films, but it's smarter and better done than a lot of what has come since those movies were made, which is to say there is at least some thought behind the killings. The thoughts belong to Raimi as much as or more than to Alvarez, but at least they're there. Rated R; bloody violence, gore, sexual content, language. 1 hour, 31 minutes. By Bill Goodykoontz, Gannett News Service.

"42"★★

Writer-director Brian Helgeland's biopic about Jackie Robinson, the first black player in Major League Baseball, is a class act, though not always an engaging act. With an earnest performance by Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and an enjoyably self-effacing turn by Harrison Ford as Brooklyn Dodgers boss Branch Rickey, "42" hits every button you expect very ably. Yet like a sleepy baseball game, it's not the jolt of energy and entertainment you wish it could be. The filmmakers show nice restraint in the baseball action, focusing on Robinson's sneaky, speedy base-running rather than laying on montages of towering home runs. But the movie's dialogue becomes preachy at times, and away from the ball field or front office, "42" often languishes in soapiness. Rated PG-13; mature themes, language. 2 hours, 8 minutes. By David Germain, Associated Press.

"The Place Beyond the Pines"★★★

This tale of loss and bad decisions, which is told in three parts, is nothing if not ambitious. Director Derek Cianfrance badly wants it to be an epic, and by the end, you'll most likely submit. Ryan Gosling is quite good as a buff motorcycle rider who is lured into a life of robbing banks after he discovers that he's the father of a young son. Bradley Cooper is good, too, as a rookie cop who's similarly prone to making bad choices despite his astonishing ambition. The film's final segment, which flashes forward 15 years, introduces us to the men's teenage sons who are setting themselves up for lives as troubled as their fathers'. Yes, Cianfrance is trying to make a point, and he beats us over the head with the plot mallet. A lighter touch would have worked better, but if you've got the endurance, Gosling and Cooper have the talent to hold the screen as potentially good men whose choices doom them. Rated R; language, violence, drug and alcohol use, a sexual reference. 2 hours, 20 minutes. By Bill Goodykoontz.

"Room 237"★★★

One person believes "The Shining" was director Stanley Kubrick's commentary on the Holocaust. Another points out clues that reveal the film is really about the genocide of American Indians. In "Room 237," director Rodney Ascher never shows us the faces of the movie lovers and conspiracy theorists analyzing Kubrick's 1980 horror outing. Instead, he uses clips from the movie, as well as some of Kubrick's other films, with just the occasional bit of animation or dramatic re-enactment to stress a particular point. Ascher treats all these insane theories seriously, but that doesn't mean you have to. "Room 237" isn't a work of cinematic criticism, although it does prove you can find meaning in anything if you stare at it long enough. The film's true subject is obsession - a love of movies, specifically. It makes us reconsider a widely seen film from a new and strange perspective that leads to even greater mystery and fascination. Not rated. 1 hour, 42 minutes. By Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald.

"The Sapphires"★★★

This up-from-struggle story of a group of Outback aboriginal girls in the late '60s who become a pop group follows the predictable form of movies like these, from "Dreamgirls" to "The Commitments," but there's such a sense of joy in the performances that it's hard not to be won over. Based very loosely on a true story, the film pulses with a heartfelt energy, largely because of actress Deborah Mailman (who may finally get her due after years of solid work in Australia), the vocal strength of costar Jessica Mauboy and the lanky charm of Chris O'Dowd, who plays the group's manager and just may have made himself a star with this role. Director Wayne Blair keeps things moving so quickly you don't have time to quibble that some of the songs covered in the film - "I'll Take You There," for instance - weren't yet around in 1968, the year in which "The Sapphires" is set. Rated PG-13; sexuality, war violence, language, mature themes. 1 hour, 43 minutes. By Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"Trance"★★

Director Danny Boyle's attempt to step into Christopher Nolan-like mind-bending territory collapses into a pile of preposterous silliness. "Trance" feels like a movie that was made only because the Oscar-winning Boyle had the clout to make it on a modest budget. James McAvoy plays an art auctioneer who collaborates with a gang of thieves to steal a valuable Goya painting. During the heist, he bumps his head and blacks out and later can't explain why the briefcase that's supposed to hold the painting is empty. This doesn't sit well with his criminal pals, who force him to see a renowned hypnotist (Rosario Dawson) to help him remember where the artwork went. The plot is purposely convoluted and nearly impossible to follow as it leads up to a big reveal. Dawson has never given a better performance, but she's not enough to keep this nutty movie from exploding into shards of colorful nonsense. Rated R; language, violence, gore, nudity, sexual situations, adult themes. 1 hour, 41 minutes. By Rene Rodriguez.

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Movie scoreboard: '42,' 'Evil Dead,' 'The Place Beyond the Pines'

'Evil Dead' If you've got the guts to tackle another version of 'The Evil Dead,' you'd better be prepared to spill some, well, guts. And in 'Evil Dead,' director Fede Alvarez spills plenty.